Israeli Soldiers Fired at Gaza Aid Flotilla in Self-defence"? Give me a Break.

It was announced today that the attack on the Gaza bound flotilla of aid ships, in which nine activists were killed, has been deemed an act of "self defense".

Give me a break.

Israel would not allow an international investigation, but instead launched one of their own, placing two pro-Israel voices on their "independent" panel.

David Trimble is an Irish Conservative who has been an outspoken critic of Palestine. As one reader of the UK Guardian asked, when Trimble suggested that Palestine must end it's violent assaults: "Why does Mr Trimble not ask Israel to renounce violence? The violence that the IDF inflicts daily on the palestinian population. And the frequent miltary attacks into Gaza and the West Bank. And the kidnapping and detention without trial of thousands of Palestinians, including elected officials."

And Brigadier-General Ken Watkin of Canada has a history of being involved in cover-ups.

The other foreign observer is less well known. He is Ken Watkins. Watkins is a Canadian and military judge advocate general. Perhaps Watkins was chosen because he is great at cover ups. Recently a Canadian diplomat Richard Colvin blew the whistle on the practice of Canadian troops transferring captured suspected militants to Afghan custody knowing that they might be tortured. Colvin wrote several reports on the issue to his superiors warning them this could be a war crime. Among those to whom he reported was Ken Watkins. Here is a short bit from an inquiry into the issue: (CTV)

-Gen. Ken Watkins, the military judge advocate general, claimed solicitor-client privilege about whether he'd seen warnings from a diplomat in Kandahar and whether he'd received direction from the prime minister's office. "Obviously the coverup continues," said Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh.

This is a sham.

I am so ashamed of my country now. I'm not anti-Israel, but am pro-Canadian, and Canadians always sought peaceful solutions to conflict. Now we are aiding and abetting.

The Harper government has aligned themselves with the Jewish Defense League, a terrorist organization if I ever saw one. Inexcusable.

We have got to start speaking up.